Q. I am a 77-year-old widow of a postmaster with 30-plus years’ service who passed away in 1993. I have since received spousal benefits plus insurance coverage. I do not receive Social Security. I have not remarried. However, if I marry a widower who retired from military service (Marine officer and FBI) after 30-plus years, how will my benefits and insurance be affected? A. They won’t be affected.
Monthly Archives: December, 2012
Q. If I were to retire Aug. 31 and I had 240 hours of annual leave, would I have to either select lump sum or take the leave and change my retirement date to Sept. 30, or do they automatically change your retirement date and send you the lump sum? And do I get credit and earn leave during this period of lump sum and/or used leave period? A. You don’t have a choice. Unlike the military, the federal civilian government doesn’t permit its employees to take terminal leave. You need to set your retirement date and then retire. Any…
Q. I am with USPS and am in CSRS. I began working in 1973 and quit in 1977, at which time I withdrew my retirement money. I returned to USPS in 1983 and am still with them. Do I need to redeposit the money I withdrew to get credit for 33 years of service? If I do not redeposit the money, will my annuity be decreased and if so by how much? A. Because you took a refund of your retirement contributions before Feb. 28, 1991, you’ll still get credit for that time in determining your years of service; however,…
Q. Your Sept. 17 article regarding healthy retirement packages for submission to OPM mentions the SF 2806 or SF3100, which should contain your service and fiscal history. In my case, since I will have 35 years of service when I retire and I worked for six agencies (maybe seven, if Defense Contracts Management Agency counts separately from Defense Logistics Agency, from which it sprang), my current agency (NIH) does not have the accumulated retirement taken from my pay, either by calendar year or in total. When a federal employee changes agencies, the amount starts accumulating again from the first paycheck.…
Q. I was in the active Air Force for five years and in the Pennsylvania Air National Guard for 18 years. I am retired and am receiving benefits. I also have two years as a federal employee in the VA health system. I am considering a job with VA. How do I determine my status regarding years of service and how this affects benefits while working and at retirement? What office gives the definitive answer? A. OPM is the ultimate source of definitive answers; however, your own agency personnel office should be able to give you the same answers. They…
Q. I am a National Guard technician being medically disqualified from my military position, which is causing me to lose my civilian position. I have educated myself I think pretty well on my overall retirement package. OPM regulations state that if I am medically disqualified from my civilian job, I am entitled to severance pay. I called my local human resources office and was told that because I am getting an annuity, I do not qualify for this. That office has told me many things that are not true, so I do not believe that. I was also told that…
Q. I am a 56-year-old CSRS employee with 29 years of federal service. I am a noncompetitive federal employee as a full-time National Guard technician. I pay into Social Security on the guard side and into CSRS on the technician side. When the windfall elimination provision is applied, how is the SS annuity calculated? A. Your Social Security benefit will be based on all your years of Social Security covered employment. However, because you’ll be receiving an annuity from CSRS — a retirement system where you didn’t pay Social Security taxes — you’ll be subject to the windfall elimination provision…
Q. With five years of federal civilian service and eight years of military paid for, if I left federal service, would I be able to apply for the MRA+10 retirement option when I reached that age, since that would be more than 10 years? Or would it just be a deferred annuity at 62 that I would be eligible for? A. Age 62.
Q. I’m 59 years old and have 38 years government service under CSRS. I have 39 quarters Social Security paid in. Do I only have to work one more quarter to qualify for Social Security by the time I’m 62? Someone told me I had to work so many quarters in the last 10 years. A. You only have to have 40 credits under Social Security to qualify for a Social Security benefit at age 62. Just be aware that if you are still working when you apply for that benefit, it will be affected by the annual earnings limit,…
Q. I am under CSRS Offset. My retirement plan has always been to retire and get a non-civil-service job. My idea was that the CSRS, even Offset, pension would be my bread and butter and the other job, probably part time, would be a supplemental. What I have read about CSRS Offset seems to indicate that it won’t work. As of age 62, I will get some money from CSRS and some from Social Security. But if I am working, won’t that stop me from getting the Social Security? A. If you are retired before age 62, when you reach…